Graham Miller interviewed by Frank Paterson

Oral history interview with Graham Miller, conducted and recorded by Frank Paterson at the National Railway Museum, York on 11 July 2018. Duration: 2 hr. 17 min. 40 sec. Management Trainee Scotland; Area Operations Assistant Girvan; Jimmy Knapp; trade union influence; Royal Train; Bellshill Area Manager; absenteeism; whisky thefts; Operations and Train Crew Manager; bonus schemes; Personal Assistant to Peter Parker; David Bowick; government objectives; lack of knowledge among civil service; Friends of National Railway Museum (FNRM); Nationalised Industries Chairmen’s Group; Margaret Thatcher; resignation; family business; consultancy; Freight Transport Association (FTA); road transport de-regulation; response to OBE award; Malcolm Rifkind; cost of safety; FTA rail freight group; aborted meeting with John MacGregor; 44 ton heavy axle load introduced; political incomprehension of railways’ complexity; Network Rail Advisory Board

One of over 150 oral history recordings made as part of the Britain’s Railways All Change (BRAC) archive project. BRAC was set-up to cover gaps in documenting the railway privatisation process in the United Kingdom, between 1994 and 1997, when the government-owned British Rail was dismantled into over 100 privately-owned companies. The interviews capture the recollections of people involved in the planning and implementation of the privatisation process, the management of change and running the railway during privatisation.